Espenido assignment in Iloilo City not a coincidence—opposition solons

Philippine National Police Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido is interviewed by the media following the commemoration of National Heroes Day, a national holiday, at the Heroes Cemetery Monday, Aug. 28, 2017 in suburban Taguig city, east of Manila, Philippines. Espenido, whose assignments in two cities in central Philippines led to the killings of two mayors allegedly named by President Rodrigo Duterte in his drug watch list, announces in a nationwide broadcast, Espenido’s transfer to the central Philippine city of Iloilo, whose town mayor is also included in Duterte’s watchlist. AP

Opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Tuesday warned about the assignment by President Rodrigo Duterte of Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido to Iloilo City, which was deemed by the chief executive as the Visayas drug hotbed.

In separate statements, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano and Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin said it is no coincidence Espenido was reassigned to another drug hotspot, given his record of slain alleged drug lords under his watch.

READ: Duterte assigns Espenido to Iloilo City — Visayas’ ‘drug bedrock’ 

Espenido led the anti-drug raids in Ozamiz city that led to the death of Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog. It was also under Espenido’s watch that Albuera mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. was killed in an alleged shoot-out with police inside a subprovincial jail in Baybay city, Leyte.

The Parojinogs and Espinosa have been linked by the President to the narcotics trade. This time, Espenido was reassigned in Iloilo city where Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog is also tagged by the chief executive in his narcolist.

Alejano said it is not coincidental Espenido was reassigned in Iloilo city.

READ: Mabilog on Espenido: He’s welcome but ‘I pray to God for His protection’ 

“It goes to show that the assignments of Espenido and the killings of Mayors in areas where he was assigned are not at all coincidences,” Alejano said.

Alejano said Espenido “is clearly acting under orders of the president.”

“A police officer of a rank of a Chief Inspector threatening a mayor is uncalled for and highly unusual. He is being used as a hatchet man of this administration,” he said.

He urged the administration to “respect due process and the rule of law,” and avoid “short cuts,” in a veiled reference to the killings of alleged drug suspects in the guise of legitimate police operations.

“Ito dapat ang pagtibayin at iwasan ang pag short cut ng proseso dahil magtutulak ito sa mga biktima na ilagay ang batas sa kanilang mga kamay,” Alejano said.

(We should avoid taking shortcuts in the process because this will compel the victims to take the law into their own hands.)

For his part, Villarin said Mayor Mabilog is “not safe,” even as he is being considered as a member of the administration party Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

“I understand Mayor Mabilog has been sworn in as PDP Laban and now an ally of the President. If PCI Jovie Espenido will continue his nihilist campaign against alleged illegal drug personalities, then the mayor is not safe,” Villarin said.

Mabilog was reported to be an independent after having bolted from the Liberal Party, according to an Inquirer report.

READ: Alvarez invites Iloilo governor to join PDP-Laban

Villarin compared the police operations under Espenido’s watch to the “Wild, Wild West,” wherein the suspects are caught “dead or alive, but mostly dead.”

“His leadership is akin to a bounty hunter of the Wild, Wild West. He needs to get his quarry dead or alive but mostly dead. This is not modern law enforcement where crime fighting is about following the rule of law,” Villarin said.

Villarin said the killings of drug suspects only promote “lust for blood and revenge.”

“Justice is achieved when criminals are caught, convicted and imprisoned. Bringing deathly justice serves only our lust for blood and revenge,” Villarin said. IDL

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